Jeremy Corbyn preparing to call for Tony Blair to be investigated for war crimes

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: The Telegraph

Jeremy Corbyn is preparing to call for Tony Blair to be investigated for war crimes in the wake of a damning Chilcot report into Britain's involvement in the Iraq War, the Telegraph understands.

The former Labour Prime Minister's reputation is expected to be seriously "damaged" by the upcoming Inquiry, according to a senior source who has discussed the report with its authors.

It is understood that Mr Corbyn will not row back from calls he made last year for Mr Blair to stand trial for war crimes if he is found to have broken the law over the 2003 conflict.

At the time the Labour leader said Mr Blair will have to "explain" his involvement in the Iraq war once the Inquiry is published on 6 July, less than a fortnight after the EU referendum. A Labour spokesperson said yesterday: "We look forward to the release of the Chilcot report into the Iraq War and reading the evidence he has uncovered ."They confirmed Mr Corbyn stands by his previous remarks.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/22/jeremy-corbyn-preparing-to-call-for-tony-blair-to-be-investigate/

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From Aug 2015:

Jeremy Corbyn: Tony Blair could face war crimes trial over 'illegal Iraq invasion'

Tony Blair could be made to stand trial for war crimes, according to the current Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn.

The veteran left winger said the former prime minister was reaching the point when he was going to have to deal with the consequences of his actions with the coming Chilcot inquiry report.

“I think it was an illegal war,” he said in an interview with BBC2's Newsnight adding that former UN secretary general had confirmed that. “Therefore he (Blair) has to explain that,” Corbyn said.

“We went into a war that was catastrophic, that was illegal, that cost us a lot of money, that lost a lot of lives,” he added. “The consequences are still played out with migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, refugees all over the region,” he said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-tony-blair-could-face-war-crimes-trial-over-illegal-iraq-invasion-10439020.html

[Kelvin Mace]

1. I will wait to celebrate until this is confirmed

By a reputable source.

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Chilcot report: Tony Blair set to be savaged in ‘absolutely brutal’ Iraq war inquiry verdict

Chilcot report: Tony Blair set to be savaged in ‘absolutely brutal’ Iraq war inquiry verdict

The long-awaited Chilcot report into the Iraq war is reportedly set to savage Tony Blair and other former government officials in an “absolutely brutal” verdict on the failings of the occupation.

The former Prime Minister “won’t be let off the hook” over claims he offered military assistance to the former American President George W Bush, a year before the invasion of Iraq, a source told the Sunday Times.

The Inquiry, which was set up by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in June 2009 to look into the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, will release its 2.6 million word report just two weeks after the EU referendum. It is expected to “damage the reputations” of a number of high-ranking officials.

snip

The Iraq Inquiry will be based on the testimony of more than 150 witnesses, who contributed to more than 130 sessions of oral evidence. It also incorporates the results of the examination of 150,000 Government documents examined.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/chilcot-report-tony-blair-set-to-be-savaged-in-absolutely-brutal-iraq-war-inquiry-verdict-a7041926.html


The report is gonna be brutal so this is why we are seeing these statements on Blair.

Let's hope for the best, it might help something start in the US against our war criminals.


Cross our fingers.

[Hoppy]

16. Nah. Nancy Pelosi --- "Impeachment is off the table."

That was the only chance we had for even a hearing to consider impeachment.


Obama was just as useless. The A.G. could have been directed to investigate. Instead, we were "looking to the future."

[tularetom]

17. Trump might go after Bush, Hillary never would, Bill wouldn't allow it

He's in the club, ya know. And he likes being in it.

[OnDoutside]

19. For all the guilt Bush has, does America need yet another divisive sh**fest ? And for what ?

He'd never be impeached anyway.

[onwardsand upwards]

22. Yes -- people need to be held accountable for their crimes.

Especially war crimes, where many are killed.

[OnDoutside]

29. Do you have a baseline number on that ?

It's just not going to happen.

[BillZBubb]

27. Sure, let's allow war criminals to walk. Seeking justice might upset too many people.

The laws are only for the "little people".

[WhiteTara]

28. He needs to answer for his crimes at the Hague

you don't impeach someone not in office BTW

[FSogol]

25. It is delusional to think Trump will do anything except cut business regulations & stroke his ego.

[liberal_at_heart]

2. You mean Great Britain's PMs don't have a pact never to prosecute each other the

way our presidents do? Good for them.

[Betty Karlson]

8. Corbyn is leader of the opposition. But the Crown Prosecution Service acts independent of

both government and opposition. All Corbyn is doing is nudging some folks in the CPS to maybe investigate a certain former PM.

What is more telling, when it comes to PMs, is that neither Brown nor Cameron have felt a need to see Blair knighted. Practically all former British PMs have been knighted (or even elevated to nobility), but Blair has been overlooked, so far. It's almost as if his successors know something...

[Ghost Dog]

13. Yes. That, in the USA, the executive can and does directly influence

the judiciary implies there is no proper rule of law, and therefore no proper democracy, in the USA.

[Dustlawyer]

21. There is no proper Rule of Law in the U.S.!

Just look to how the BP oil spill litigation is going. 2/3 of the victims in the Class Settlement got nothing and the 1/3 who did didn't get anything close to their losses. This is the same Class Settlement where the Court appointed Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC) gets $600,000,000 if the crappy class settlement makes it through to its miserable end without being overturned. Who could fight the settlement and overturn it, the PSC that's who, the same ones that would lose the $600 million if they did overturn it!

[pa28]

3. Blair knew this was coming.

One of the reasons he worked night and day to prevent Corbyn from winning the race for opposition leader.

[OnDoutside]

14. It might have been a reason, but the bigger issue is that Corbyn is unelectable

It takes the Labour Party back to the days of Michael Foot. Not a happy time for them. Corbyn is only playing to his supporters in dragging this up, the reality is that it will go nowhere (which is a pity).

[shenmue]

4. Holy shit

[billhicks76]

5. Hillary's Stance?

[villager]

6. Glad to hear it's not "off the table."

Gosh, one might almost attribute it to the vestiges of a functioning democracy...

[pmorlan1]

7. Yes!

Oh how I would love to see this happen. YES!

[Bad Dog]

9. There was a Channel 4 Drama abour Blair being prosecuted by the ICC.

This is different, but most probably won't go anywhere. It's down to the CPS, but the serving prime minister can put pressure on them, and I doubt Cameron will want to set a precedent of prosecuting ex PMs, not after what he's been up to. So a lot will depend on Corbyn getting in. Until then we've always got satire.

[Ken Burch]

11. This will cause the Blairites to push even harder for Corbyn's ouster

and his replacement with someone who would obediently exonerate the Dear Former Leader, He Whose Infallible Brilliance Must Never Be Questioned.

If a second SDP is formed, you'll know why.

[T_i_B]

18. Can't disagree

Labour is badly split as it is and for Corbyn to turn on Blair in this manner would only serve to make his position even weaker. He might well be better off staying aloof and letting the Blairites self destruct.

[Ironing Man]

20. ...

i don't think the Blairites within the PLP will self-distruct over Blair, none of them have associated with him because of his toxicity since he left office, and none of them were remotely senior positions so its not as if they personally will get any stick. how many of them served at cabinet level under Blair?

they will say that the law should take its course, that if Blair is guilty (funny how you won't find people who can tell you exatly what laws they think Blair broke rather than the 'war is bad m'kay..' law) he should face the consequences, but that they can't really talk about current legal procedings. end of story...

Corbyn will do well to make hay from it for a time, it will shore up his support, but the truth is no outside the CND-left one cares - Blair went a decade ago, obsessing about him is yesterdays issue and eyes glaze over when the subject gets to Blair. Corbyn would be wise to not push the issue too hard, as while he might plan for the mud to stick to the blairites in the PLP, what might happen is that the mud just sticks to Labour.

to me, it looks a lot like Corbyn focussing on the internal battles within the party, rather than focussing on the electorate. do it for a week, get some publicity on his terms, but to bash on about forever would be a grave mistake - quite simply, the marginal/swing constituancies that Labour needs to win in 2020 aren't going to be swung over Blair and refighting the battles of 2003, and they will be increasingly put off what they see as obsessing about the past.

[T_i_B]

32. I disagree about the Blairites

The effect Blair had on Labour was profound, and the moderate wing of the party has never really been able to step out of his shadow. Something that's made worse by how many of them were special advisers and the like during the Blair years.

In fact one of many issues I have with the Blairites is how many of them appear to be still trapped in a 1990's timewarp.

[Skwmom]

12. A country holding its elected officials accountable? How bizarre.

[merrily]

15. K & R The consequences of the Iraq War just keep coming.

[Gregorian]

23. Damned liberals! Let one win an election, and this is what happens.

No wonder they cheat over here. Wouldn't want people to know the truth now.

[Blue_Tires]

24. Corbyn confuses me

given that he's turned a blind eye towards Putin's war crimes...

[BillZBubb]

26. Putin isn't a former British PM who started an illegal war. Nice deflection.

There is no Chilcot report on Putin's crimes. When there is, I sure Corbyn will address it.

[Ironing Man]

30. You'll be lucky..

Corbyn, like a great many on the British left, appears to be somewhat blind to the offences of other countries and groups, and any fault he is forced to notice will be explained/mitigated/blamed on some element t of Western foreign policy...

[BillZBubb]

31. Corbyn, like a great many on the left around the world, isn't afraid to criticize wrongdoing

by his own country. Conservatives don't like it, if the criticism is an element of conservative policy.

Blair should face justice along with bush, cheney, et al.

[LiberalLovinLug]

33. such a shallow argument

More of the but but but ...look what they did! "logic"

Its like parents of terrible behaving children, and if they dare to work to punish and correct this behavior, being told..Why are they not seeing and speaking out about their neighbors children's behavior first!